


The Case of the Visiting Russian Scientist

by Goddess47



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 14:07:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17102030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goddess47/pseuds/Goddess47
Summary: Without hesitation, Gregori -- Dr. Griboyedov Yevgenievich, John remembered from the list they had reviewed  -- went up to Rodney and kissed him. And, not just a polite 'hello' kiss but an intimateI've missed youtype kiss. Gregori moved closer to Rodney, putting his hands on Rodney's hips, in obvious familiarity.





	The Case of the Visiting Russian Scientist

**Author's Note:**

  * For [FandomJumper (littlelostcat)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlelostcat/gifts).



> I've had the opening scene in my head forever... someone from Rodney's past shows up in Atlantis... thank you for your prompt that let me actually write the story that goes with that!

The alarm on John's tablet dinged to remind him that it was almost time for the weekly arrival of new staff to Atlantis. Everyone -- soldiers, scientists and general staff -- came through the Gate Bridge, which made it easier to schedule departures and arrivals.

Knowing he had time before the dial-in, John strolled through the city, checking in on labs and office spaces. He mostly waved 'hello' or nodded a greeting, wanting to check as many areas as possible, while also knowing he was on a deadline. 

He arrived at the Gate room just a few minutes before the scheduled dial-in.

"Incoming!" Chuck called, as the Gate started to activate. He waited a moment for the connection to complete. "Midway station confirmed!" he called as the Gate settled.

"Drop the shield," Anne Teldy commanded.

The group of soldiers and civilians that were going back to Earth had passed through the Gate an hour ago. The delay between comings and goings allowed for those traveling to get away from the Gate and avoiding congestion on either side.

Shortly, the first group came through the Gate. There was a group of soldiers returning from Earth-side leave. They came up to John, stopped and saluted.

"Returning from leave, sir," Sergeant Matias reported.

"Welcome back!" John casually returned the salute. "Have fun?"

A chorus of "yes, sir!" came from the group. 

"Infirmary!" John reminded them.

"Know the drill," the Sergeant said, waving a hand. "Glad to see you!"

"Glad to have you back!" John said.

The next group was a squad of Marines that were newly assigned to Atlantis.

"Squad! Assemble!" the Sergeant accompanying them said sharply.

The group moved quickly to the bottom of the ramp and moved into formation.

John walked over to the group, casually ran an eye over them and saluted. "Welcome to Atlantis!"

"Thank you, sir!" The squad answered as one.

"Major Lorne will be getting you settled," John directed as Lorne came up beside him.

"Sergeant Ziozack," Lorne addressed the man. "I'll take your team to the Infirmary for a required check up. Once that is complete, I will then get you settled into quarters."

"Thank you, sir!" Ziozack replied. "Squad, march."

John watched as the team followed Lorne to the Infirmary. 

While this had been happening, there was a contingent of soldiers, as well as a couple of lab technicians, working to move materials that were being pushed through the Gate away from the walkway. This was a well-orchestrated set of movements, allowing for delivery of mail, fresh food and needed supplies.

The last group was the scientists and civilians. The returning scientists nodded or said 'hello' to John as they went through to the Infirmary. The newbies hung around the gate room, looking around avidly.

"If I may have your attention?" John asked. The six men and three women gathered around John.

"I'm Colonel John Sheppard, the military commander on Atlantis," John introduced himself. "First order of business will be to have a mandatory health check in our Infirmary." There was a stir of reluctance. "Yes, I know, you just went through that at the SGC. Yes, I know you've already been the most thorough health scan you've ever been through. But it's required. Please be patient with the staff in the Infirmary, they're just doing their jobs."

At that point, Rodney came hurrying into the Gateroom.

"Rodney?" John asked. Usually Radek or Miko did the initial orientation for the new scientists.

Rodney looked around. "Radek's coming. I just..." He looked over the group and gave a bright smile.

"Gregori!" Rodney said.

" _Dorogoi!_ " A tall, dark, Slavic man greeted Rodney cheerfully. "Darling Rodney! I am so glad to finally see you again!"

Without hesitation, Gregori -- Dr. Griboyedov Yevgenievich, John remembered from the list they had reviewed -- went up to Rodney and kissed him. And, not just a polite 'hello' kiss but an intimate _I've missed you_ type kiss. Gregori moved closer to Rodney, putting his hands on Rodney's hips, in obvious familiarity.

John frowned. _What?_

Just then Radek came into the Gate room.

"Rodney! Do not steal new scientist already!" Radek teased.

Rodney stepped away from Gregori, and blushed. "We... umm... knew each other when I was in Russia."

Rodney never talked about his time in Russia, and John knew it was supposed to be a punishment at one point. To find that Rodney had made a friend -- an obviously close friend -- was a surprise to John.

Radek led the scientists and civilians off to the Infirmary. By staging the groups through the Gate, it let the medical staff do their work without being overwhelmed.

"Old friend?" John asked Rodney as they watched the last group exit the Gate room. 

"We spent a lot of time together when I was in Russia," Rodney admitted, ears still pink. "He was one of the few who didn't resent me and, well..." 

"Glad you had someone to work with, then," John said. "Too bad he's only here for two weeks."

"Well, I figured once I got him here, I'd see what I could do to keep him longer," Rodney admitted.

"Oh?" John asked as neutrally as he could.

"Gotta go!" Rodney said. "See you at dinner?"

"Sure," John agreed.

SGA-12 and 17 were late coming back from their exploration mission, due to abysmally bad weather and thankfully nothing more serious, which made John later than normal for dinner. He knew he'd be at the end of the formal serving time, but he was hoping to catch up with Rodney.

John got his dinner from the serving line, taking an extra pudding without thought. He searched the seating area for Rodney and was disappointed, but not surprised, to not see him. He did see Sergeant Matias eating alone.

"Mind if I join you?" John asked.

"Sure!" Matias waved a hand at the otherwise empty table.

"Thanks!" John settled his tray on the table. "Have a good leave?"

"It was good," Matias nodded. "Saw my family, my sister has another baby -- a girl this time -- and got to go to a couple of ball games. Took the older kids with me, they're finally old enough to sit through a game and enjoy it."

"Glad you had a good time!" John said. "What are the newbies like?" The twenty four hour isolation on the Midway station would give Matias an advanced head's up on the new recruits. While Lorne and Cadman were technically in charge of dealing with the new soldiers, the sergeants were the ones who really dealt with the newest recruits.

"Meh," Matias shrugged. "Couple have promise, I think, but they're pretty green. They have minimal Gate experience and heaven only knows what they'd do if they meet up with a Wraith."

"We can beat some of that out of them," John grinned. "Do we keep them together or break them up?"

"Oh, break them up," Matias grinned. "They feed on each other if you leave them together, and we can salvage more of them if we separate them."

"Okay, thanks!" John nodded.

"Hey, what's up with that Dr. Yevgenievich?" Matias asked. "Seems nice enough at first but, well, he gave me a weird vibe."

John considered. Matias' instincts were usually good -- enough that he had saved himself and his team a couple of times while off planet with a 'gut reaction' -- so he was now concerned about Rodney's friend.

"Seems to be an old friend of Dr. McKay's," John replied. "He's supposed to be here for only two weeks but evidently McKay wants to see if he'll stay longer. But you know O'Neill and Russians... he doesn't want to let them get too involved in the SGC, much less Atlantis. Which is why the short stay."

Matias nodded. "I'd keep an eye on him," he said. "I don't have anything specific that I can tell you, it's just a gut thing."

"I'd trust your gut against almost anything," John admitted. "Put the word out to keep a discrete eye on him?"

Matias grinned as he nodded. "That's the fun part!"

Since Rodney didn't seem to be available, John wandered about the city for a while, then decided to call it a night. 

The next day, John saw Rodney already eating breakfast with Yevgenievich. Waving his hands about something, Rodney looked... happier than John had seen him for a while. 

Deciding not to bother them, John took his breakfast up to his office. Where he drank the coffee but really didn't eat anything he had brought with him. He figured he wasn't hungry.

After a couple of hours of paperwork, approving requisitions and doing the personnel evaluations that weren't fair to ask Lorne to do, John figured he was entitled to get out of the office. Since Ronon was on the mainland with Teyla and not scheduled to return until after lunch today, John headed to the labs to see what was happening there.

That was... laughter? John rarely heard laughter from the labs, so he approached, curious.

As he stood in the door, he saw Rodney and Yevgenievich... dancing? It was more of an old fashioned vaudeville soft shoe. There was a tinkle of music in the background and, as the music finished, they shuffled off the 'stage' to one side of the lab.

A round of applause came from the watchers.

"Okay, enough! Back to work!" Rodney ordered. But he had a smile on his face that belied the gruffness in his voice.

As the small crowd disbursed, John came into the lab.

"I didn't realize you were so talented," John teased.

Rodney flushed. "Something Gregori and I had done when we were stuck in Siberia. There's not a lot to do and there were some very long nights. If you don't make your own entertainment, your only other choice is to drink too much."

"And there was nothing but bad vodka to drink," Yevgenievich put in. "So you were taking your life -- and liver -- in your hands if you drank too much of it!"

"Anything you need?" Rodney asked.

John shrugged. "Nah, just checking on stuff."

"Do you spend a lot of time in the science labs, Colonel?" Yevgenievich asked.

John shook his head. "Not too much, just keeping an eye on what's going on."

"The Colonel is working on his own projects," Radek put in. "He is helping with the math on the ZPM recharging project."

Yevgenievich's eyes narrowed. "The military commander of Atlantis is working on such an important project?"

John shifted in place. "Keeps me busy and out of trouble." He gave his _meeting with new folk we don't trust_ grin. He saw Rodney frown at that.

"Since there's nothing special going on here, I'll go away," John said. "See you at lunch?"

Rodney looked at Yevgenievich, who shrugged. "Sure. We can do that."

John didn't flinch. "Sure! More the merrier!"

"I don't want to impose..." Yevgenievich started. "If you don't mind!!"

"It's only lunch," John waved a casual hand. "See you then!"

John nodded at them and left the lab.

He had another hour to kill before lunch, so he went back to his office to trash through more paperwork. Maybe he'd be less behind than usual at this rate.

John took a deep breath before he entered the mess. He looked over to their usual table to see Rodney and Yevgenievich already seated. He went through the line, grabbing an extra brownie without thinking too hard about it.

"Your food here is good," Yevgenievich said. "Much better than I would have expected."

"That's credit to the Quartermaster and her folk," John replied, glad for a neutral topic to work with. "They work hard on adapting native Pegasus food and making it palatable to our Earth tastes. There's usually at least one purely Earth dish, like the brownies, but they blend Earth foods and spices along with what supplies we get here in Pegasus for the other dishes."

Yevgenievich took a bite of what had been labeled 'beef' stew. "So, this is not what I think it is?" he asked.

"Nope," John said. "The vegetables are mostly grown here on Atlantis in our hydroponic gardens. There's a garden on the mainland for root vegetables, like carrots and potatoes -- and it's carefully watched so it doesn't spread outside our test plot. The last thing we want to do is spread Earth vegetation without a lot of evidence it's not harmful. The 'beef' is actually from another planet, and it doesn't look anything like a cow, more like an... emu or an ostrich."

"Really?" Yevgenievich looked carefully at his plate. A small shrug and he continued eating. "It's good! And better than what they gave us in Siberia!"

"That's true!" Rodney agreed with a nod. 

"So, what sort of things are you here to work on, Dr. Yevgenievich?" John asked.

"Please, call me Gregori," Yevgenievich said with a smile. "No reason to stand on ceremony, as you would say."

"Gregori," John repeated, neutrally. "What are you here to work on?"

"To study Ancient technology in general," Gregori answered. "Your SGC has been stingy and has not shared what they have learned from what they have found. While we do not have as many 'toys' as you do, we have a few and would like to know more about what they are for." He nodded as if they were agreeing with him. "To add to everyone's knowledge, of course."

"Of course," John echoed.

"There are other projects I would like to be able to work on," Gregori continued. "But I will make do with what I can."

"Well," John said as he hastily finished his lunch, "I hate to eat and run, but I have a meeting scheduled shortly."

Rodney looked up, startled. "Am I missing something?"

"No, just military staff this time," John assured him. "I do have a day job, remember?"

Rodney relaxed. "Oh, good! Don't blow up anything important!"

"Don't forget we have a mission tomorrow morning," John reminded him. "We're leaving at five am, remember."

Rodney groaned. "I hate going to planets that have different rotations," he moaned, then sighed. "I'll be there."

"May I tag along?" Gregori asked.

"Sure!" Rodney said -- as John said "No!"

John looked at Rodney. "I'm sorry. Dr. Yevgenievich is not certified to go on off-world missions. And, even if we had time to test him, there isn't time to issue him the equipment he would need."

Gregori waved a hand. "I understand. You go and I'll work with Dr. Zelenka for the day. And you tell me about it when you get back."

"You sure?" Rodney asked.

"Not a problem!" Gregori replied easily.

"Okay, then," John said. "I'll see you later this afternoon to review the mission?"

"It's on my calendar," Rodney promised.

John went back to his office to meet up with his officers. As the military leader, he had to provide actual leadership to the others. He tried to keep it mostly informal, but there were times he had to suck it up and be the boss. Fortunately, today was relatively straightforward -- they were reviewing upcoming missions and sketching out a longer term plan for returning to trading partners on a regular basis. 

That's what tomorrow's mission was, a routine visit to a planet, Zenia -- actually PX6-479 -- where they traded various skills for tormack. They had tried to grow tormack in the hydroponic labs, but the botanists couldn't get it to come out the same. Although, it was marginally better than no tormack at all.

This trip was with the botanists. Some of the other crops grown on the planet were giving the Zenians problems and Lorne's team was going with them to investigate.

"I'll see you at the briefing," John said, as the meeting broke up. 

"We'll be there!" Lorne promised. 

John noticed that Gregori had tagged along with Rodney to the meeting, but had left Rodney at the door with a small kiss. He found himself frowning, for some reason.

Since it was a straightforward mission, the briefing was relatively short. John turned running the meeting over to Lorne, since Parrish and the others on his team would be doing most of the work. John's team was along since they worked hard to not to send any team out alone -- even on a 'friendly' world.

"See you in the morning!" John said to the group.

Teyla stayed after the meeting -- obviously to talk to John alone.

"Rodney has a new friend?" she asked.

John bit back a sigh. "Dr. Yevgenievich is an old acquaintance from Rodney's early days in the Stargate program."

"It is unexpected to see someone who is so... close to Rodney," she murmured. "It is good to have such a good friend."

"Yeah," John said.

Teyla gave him a long look, then shook her head.

"Will I see you at dinner?" she asked.

"Sure!" John grinned. 

By the time he got to dinner, there was a full table. In addition to Gregori, Radek and Miko had joined the team for dinner. 

Teyla saw John and waved at him. She snagged a chair from the next table and lightly shoved Ronon over to make space for him.

"Everyone have a good day?" John asked.

"Gregori has been telling us stories of his and Rodney's time in... Siberia? Did I get that right?" Teyla said.

"Yes, you did!" Gregori smiled at her, as if she had been particularly clever. As John took a breath to speak, Teyla kicked him under the table.

_Oh!_

John let the conversation flow around him, noticing that even Radek and Miko were holding back a bit. They weren't obviously slighted, but only John and Rodney were treated as full equals. There wasn't anything John could directly challenge Gregori on, but it was there. 

As dinner was finished, Radek and Miko gracefully made their escape. 

Gregori turned to Rodney to ask, "How about a stroll? You can show me more of your lovely city, _lapochka_."

Rodney blushed and said, "A short walk, perhaps. We have an early morning tomorrow, remember?"

"Ah, yes!" Gregori grinned. "I will not keep you up too late!"

Rodney looked around the table. "If you will excuse us?"

"Have a good night, Rodney," Teyla said softly.

After they left, Ronon turned to John and asked, "How soon does he leave?"

John gave a wry laugh. "Not soon enough. He's only here for two weeks," John said.

"Too long," Ronon muttered. 

"I suspect that is true," Teyla added.

"Not much I can do about it," John admitted. "At least he won't be going off-world with us."

"Good thing," Ronon said, darkly. 

John went to bed early, anticipating the early alarm. He found himself tossing and turning, and he wasn't as rested as he should be by the time the alarm went off in the morning. Good thing Lorne's team was taking the lead on this mission. Although, being the security team meant that he should be more alert while the others worked. It was going to be a long day.

Dawn was just breaking as they left Atlantis in the morning. They stepped through the Gate to early afternoon sunshine.

It was a routine mission, thankfully. Parrish and his team worked with the Zenians to identify problems with several crops. One set of crops had a fungus that the scientists took samples of, to work on in the lab on Atlantis. Parrish identified a parasite that was eating through one field -- a tiny mite that the Zenians had overlooked and evidently had never seen before. They took a sample of the mites back to Atlantis, to make sure it wasn't something from another planet that was invading Zenia. 

They were packed up and back on Atlantis well within their scheduled window. It was late dinner time on Atlantis.

"Good thing the Zarians fed us," Ronon said. "Since we'll miss dinner."

Rodney shuffled in place and blushed lightly. "Gregori was going to grab an extra meal and save it for me, if we weren't back before dinner time. He was going to take it to his room and I'd meet him there."

"Infirmary first," John pointed out. "Turn in your gear, and report to medical."

"I know, I know," Rodney rolled his eyes. "Been there, done that!"

"Enjoy your dinner, Rodney," Telya said softly.

"Thanks!" Rodney said over his shoulder.

John took extra time to make sure everyone's gear was returned properly and, as a result, he was the last one through medical.

"Running late?" Carson asked. 

John wriggled on the gurney he was sitting on. "Just lots to do."

"Rodney was here much earlier," Carson commented.

"Evidently, he had a hot date," John answered. 

"Oh?" Carson hummed.

"Yeah." John rubbed the back of his neck. "That new guy. Yevgenievich."

"He's only here for a couple of weeks," Carson frowned.

"I think Rodney's working on putting in a proposal for him to stay longer," John said. 

"Really?"

John shrugged. "That'll be up to General O'Neill."

"Do you get a say in this?" Carson asked.

"Got no reason to say he can't stay," John replied.

"It's early yet," Carson said. 

"Yeah," John sighed.

By the time John got to the mess, there was only sandwiches and pre-packaged food available. He got a turkey sandwich, some chips and a carafe of hot tea -- it was too late at night for coffee -- and took it back to his room.

He ate the sandwich and chips, sipping at the 'berry' tea while it was still warm. When he was done, he put the trash in the basket and decided that he might as well go to sleep.

It had been a long day, but he stared at the ceiling of his room for a long time before falling into a restless sleep.

An early morning run with Ronon put John back into a slightly better mood. Maybe he just needed to get back into a routine.

Gregori was at breakfast with Rodney, looking faintly smug as John set his breakfast on the table.

"Have a good dinner?" John asked.

Rodney blushed and Gregori grinned. 

"It was nice," Rodney said softly.

"Only nice?" Gregori turned to look at Rodney.

"Well, very nice," Rodney grinned.

"And what's on today's agenda?" John forced himself to ask.

"I've found an artifact similar to something we have in Russia," Gregori said. "Dr. Zelenka has assured me that I should be able to find out more by searching the database for information."

"He has?" John asked, amused. "Search the database?"

Gregori nodded. "I should be able to find out more about what the device does and perhaps how to repair the one we have."

"Well, good luck with that," John said seriously.

He ignored the puzzled look Rodney shot him.

"Debriefing later," John reminded Rodney as he left the table.

"On my calendar," Rodney nodded.

"See you there!" John said.

Late in the morning, Matias tapped on the doorframe.

"Got a minute?" Matias asked.

"Sure!" John said. "Come on in!" Matias settled into the chair in front of the desk. "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I know it's only been a couple of days, but you're going to need to do something about that Dr. Yevgenievich."

John sat back in his chair. "Oh? What's he done?"

"He can't have spent much time in the Mountain before he came here, but he thinks he's god's gift to mankind and if you don't fit his idea of a 'proper' person, you might as well not exist."

"Is he blatant about it?" John asked.

"Nah, he's too good at it," Matias admitted. "Which is why he pinged my radar but I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong. He thinks I'm okay, so I didn't get slighted, but I caught parts of conversations where he... disrespected some of the others that were on Midway at the same time. It's not until you pay attention that you see it."

"Makes you wonder how a bigot or xenophobe, or whatever he is, got to travel off Earth," John said.

"Couple of the geeks are already planning how to hide the body," Matias said.

"Ah! That's going to make a lot of paperwork," John grinned. "Losing a visiting Russian scientist doesn't look good in the weekly report."

"No, it doesn't!" Matias grinned back.

John leaned forward. "Okay, he's only here for two week," John said. "That's like thirteen days too long, but we have to suck this up. I don't know if I can get him sent home early, but he will be going back at the end of that time."

"Got it!" Matias said. "We can maintain, but I don't know what the geeks will do."

"I think Dr. Z already has figured him out," John said. "That will take care of most of them."

"Good to know," Matias said.

"Best we can do is grin and bear it for the moment," John admitted. "But if he overtly gets out of line, let me know. I'll take care of it."

"I'll pass the word," Matias said.

"Thanks!" John said.

The debriefing was relatively painless, since Lorne's botanists did the majority of the work and nothing untoward had happened.

"See you for dinner?" John asked Rodney.

"Sure," Rodney replied. "Gregori decided he needs to put some time into his project, so he's going to grab something quick and work through dinner."

"Okay," John replied. "See you there!"

Dinner turned out to be just John and Rodney. Teyla begged off to eat with some of the Athosians that were on the City, and Ronon was working with some of the new Marines. John hoped Ronon didn't break any of them.

"Hey!" John said as he set his tray down next to Rodney's. "Looks like just you and me!"

Rodney looked at John's tray. "Is that for me?" He nodded at the dessert.

"You already have two!" John protested. 

"But it's good!" Rodney countered.

"Do I even get a bite?" John pouted.

"Oh, I guess," Rodney grinned. "But don't wait too long!"

John put the chocolate cake into the space between them. He took a forkful, then pushed the rest toward Rodney. 

"Yes, I got it for you," John admitted.

"I can share," Rodney mumbled. 

"Aww," John grinned. "I can, too."

"Interested in a movie, or something?" Rodney asked. 

"We haven't done that in a while," John said. "I'd like that!"

One of the improvements had been an upgrade in entertainment equipment. Rodney had obtained -- commandeered, John suspected -- a large screen video monitor and above average audio equipment. A large, comfortable couch made for a great movie space, which Rodney had admitted once was part of his plan.

"Remember when we had to watch movies on a single laptop screen?" John asked softly as Rodney queued up a movie. 

Rodney turned to look at him. "It wasn't as comfortable," he said.

"I guess not," John agreed.

"And we were interrupted too many times by some crisis or another," Rodney added. "I think there was a six month period we never saw the end of anything."

"I remember that!" John grinned. "We watched the beginning of that one Star Trek movie so many times, I think I can still do the dialog!"

Rodney laughed. "And how many times did we fall asleep?" he said. "We were always so exhausted and running on fumes."

John knew he had a stupid smile on this face at that point. Waking up wrapped around Rodney were some of his fondest moments from that time. 

_Wait! What?_

Something of his confusion must have shown on John's face. 

"You okay?" Rodney asked, peering at John. 

"Nothing!" John hurriedly brushed off Rodney's concern. "Just gas."

"Don't leave your stinky farts around here," Rodney pointed at him. "Go out on the balcony."

"Nah, not that bad," John replied. "Go ahead and start... what are we watching?"

Rodney grinned. "I made off with the new _Fantastic Beasts_ movie so we could watch it before it got put on the community server."

"Aww... that's cool!" John said.

"Rank has some priviledge," Rodney smirked. 

"I won't tell!" John promised. Neither one of them abused their rank for the most part and it was heart-warming that Rodney had thought to do this for them.

_Wait! What?_

"You sure you're okay?" Rodney demanded. "You're making that face again!"

John forced himself to clear his throat. "Nah! Just start the movie!"

About half-way through the movie, Rodney kicked off his shoes and stuck his toes under John's thigh. John automatically put a hand on Rodney's ankle. It wasn't until they had shifted that John realized how... comfortable they were this way.

Rodney's door chimed. 

"Who the heck is bothering me now?" Rodney groused. He paused the movie, got up and opened the door.

"Gregori!" Rodney greeted the man. "Didn't think you'd be by tonight!"

Gregori replied, "I wasn't getting anywhere and thought I'd stop for the night. Thought I'd see if you wanted to take a walk? Or something?" John thought that last question had something of a salacious leer too it.

John stood up. "I can go, if you want," he offered. Reluctantly. "Umm..." He looked at his watch. "SGA-12 and 15 are due back in a bit, I was going to see how they did."

"John, we're almost to the end! Stay!" Rodney turned back to talk to Gregori. "We're watching a movie," he explained. "It's almost over. I can... call you later?"

Gregori waved a hand. "No problem! You finish your movie and I'll see you tomorrow?"

Rodney nodded. "Sure! Meet you for breakfast?"

"That will be fine!" Gregori said. "Good night, _moi sladkiy_!" Gregori leaned in for a small kiss, which Rodney broke, flushing.

"Good night!" Rodney said. Gregori stepped back and Rodney closed the door.

"Sorry about that!" Rodney said. "Sit, let's see how this ends."

"You didn't have to..." John started.

"John. Sit. Watch the end of the movie!" Rodney commanded.

"Sure!" John smiled. 

John missed the feel of Rodney's feet under his thigh, but sat back to watch the end of the movie.

When it was over, John listened as Rodney trashed through all the plot hole and questionable casting.

"Did you like it?" John asked when finally took a breath.

"Sure! It was fun!" Rodney grinned. "It's not perfect, but it was good."

"Good," John said, standing. "I really do need to check on those teams."

"Yes, Colonel Worry-Wort!" Rodney waved a hand. "Go! See you for breakfast?"

"Sure," John agreed. "See you there!"

John missed breakfast. SGA-12 and 15 missed their return window and there was no response on the communicator when a request for contact was sent from the Gate room.

John rousted Ronon out of bed to go with him in a Jumper to see what was wrong. Ronon, in turn, rousted out the squad of Marines he had been working with.

"Ain't doing this just ourselves," Ronon groused. "Too many things to go wrong."

"You're right," John admitted. "Gentlemen, have a seat!"

John eased the Jumper through the Gate, not knowing what they were getting into. He put on the cloak and moved higher for some altitude.

John keyed the communicator. "Team 12 and 15, this is Team One. Report!" They had learned -- the hard way -- that enough Pegasus worlds had developed, or 'borrowed', electronic equipment, that they didn't refer to Atlantis without extreme need.

A burst of static and some garbled words came through the communicator.

"Say again," John said calmly. "Ronon, your guys ready for bear?"

A feral grin. "They better be!"

"Team One!" A frantic voice burst through. "Pinned... weapons..." 

"In a Jumper," John said back. "We'll be above you shortly!" He looked at Ronon. "Who can read an LSD?"

"I can, sir!" the Marine sitting just behind John answered.

Ronon tossed the man a device. "Tell me what you see!"

"I'm seeing... twenty-three life signs," he reported. "Eight grouped together should be ours, the rest are in a rough circle around our people. Not all the way around, so I'm guessing our guys have something in back of their position."

"Anything else?" John asked. "Anything in orbit?"

Some brief fumbling with the LSD. "No. Nothing in orbit. When I widen the search, there's a larger group of life signs about a klick away. Heat sources make me think it's a village."

"Okay," John answered, urging the Jumper to get to the site of the fire fight.

John hovered for a moment above the area and realized the teams were backed against the edge of a cliff.

"Teams 12 and 15, I'm coming down on the edge of that cliff behind you," John called through the communicator. "I'll be cloaked and shielded. Sending out a squad to help you evac."

"We've got some wounded," was reported back. "We're ready for you."

"I'm gonna balance this on the edge," John told Ronon. "You don't have to play nice, but the priority is to get our guys out of there."

"Got it!" Ronon replied. He went to the back of the Jumper and used the LSD to give each Marine a target. "Yell for help if you need it."

"Yes, sir!" they replied.

"Going down now!" John called. He swung the Jumper so that the back door would be on the cliff, and he'd stay at the controls to maintain position.

"Go!" John said, opening the hatch.

Focusing on the Jumper didn't let John pay as much attention as he would have liked to what was going on. The Marine left to keep John company reported, "Incoming!" as the first group, carrying a wounded man, got back onto to the Jumper. A sudden flurry brought the rest of the group back on board. With the two teams they picked up, it was crowded, but for a short hop, they'd be fine.

"All accounted for!" Ronon reported. He crouched over one of the wounded men to further check his wounds. Since Ronon didn't report an emergency, John assumed the man was stable.

John closed up the back of the Jumper and lifted off into the air. The marine who had handled the LSD dialed the Gate when they got closer.

"This is Jumper One, coming back with at least one seriously wounded and others who need attention," John reported. "Requesting medical to meet us."

"Roger that! Iris down, come through."

John eased back through the Gate.

A handful of medics met them, helping the wounded man onto a gurney to transfer to the Infirmary. The other wounded men didn't need assistance and followed their teammate to Medical.

Ronon took charge. "Everyone, dump your gear in the armory and then to the infirmary." He looked at John. "Far as I can tell, there's only the one seriously wounded. There's a couple with burns from something or flesh wounds. I'll get them through the infirmary and bedded down for the night."

"Thanks." John replied. "And thanks for bringing that squad. That made the pick-up that much quicker."

"Don't have to do everything yourself," Ronon pointed out. "That's what we're all here for!"

"Got it!" John grinned. "Go, take care of them."

John took the Jumper back to the bay, logged the travel time and activity and suddenly found himself yawning.

Damn. He was getting too old for this up-all-night mission shit. 

Back in his room, he left Rodney a message that he wouldn't make it to breakfast and to Lorne to clear his morning schedule. He fell into bed, thinking of Rodney's toes under his thigh.

It was late morning before John woke. It gave him enough time for a hot shower and an hour in his office before he headed out to lunch. He found the preliminary report from Teams 12 and 15 in his mail... typical mission-gone-awry, natives that didn't trust outsiders, and nothing more. At least it wasn't Wraith worshippers, John figured.

John took his tray to sit with the others. Gregori was there, again, along with Rodney, Telya and Ronon.

"You!" Rodney pointed a finger at John. "What are you doing going out alone on a rescue mission?"

John held up a hand. "Ronon was there, and a squad of Marines! I was hardly alone!"

"You could have called me, you know!" Rodney grumbled.

"And have you all sleep deprived and grumpy?" John teased.

"I would not be grumpy!" Rodney retorted.

"Yes, you would," Ronon put in.

"You, too!" Rodney pointed. "You could have called."

"It was in-and-out," John replied calmly. "We flew in, Ronon's guys got the teams out and we came back. Didn't take more than an hour. I didn't even get out of the Jumper, they did all the hard work."

"Next time, call me!" Rodney commanded.

"Okay, okay," John agreed.

Gregori turned to look at Rodney. "You go on rescue missions? Why would you do that?"

Rodney stared at Gregori for a moment. "Why not?"

"But the danger! You could get hurt. You're only rescuing soldiers," he said.

"What do you mean? _You're only rescuing soldiers?_ " Rodney growled.

"It's true," Gregori continued. "They do grunt work, can be replaced."

Rodney stood and turned to the scientist. "Dr. Yevgenievich, I'd like to see you in my office." As Gregori opened his mouth, Rodney said firmly, "Now!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Gregori scrambled to get away from the table and follow after Rodney, who had already stormed off.

"Finally!" Ronon said.

"Do not be unkind," Teyla chided, but with a small grin.

John decided there was nothing he could say, so he silently ate his lunch.

Back in his office, John was not totally surprised to find an official message from Rodney in his mail queue.

_Dr. Yevgenievich has determined that his project on Atlantis has reached a dead end and is requesting to return to Earth via this week's Midway exchange, instead of staying for the two weeks as originally scheduled._

_\--MRM, PhD, PhD  
Chief Science Officer, Atlantis Expedition_

John silently cheered. 

_Wait! What?_

John keyed his communicator. "Lorne? Anything on the schedule that really needs me for the rest of the day?" He hesitated. "Or even tomorrow?"

A pause. "Nothing I can think of. Anything I can do?"

"No, just... I'm going to take some time on the mainland," John decided. "Nothing special, just... I'm taking a day off."

"Sir?" Lorne teased. "You're doing what?"

"I know, I know," John sighed. "Yes, I'm taking a day off. I'll just be on the mainland."

"Are you going alone?" Lorne asked.

"I think so?" John replied. "I'll let you know if that changes."

"Full precautions, if you go alone!" Lorne said firmly.

"Yes, mom!" John laughed. "Full precautions." Even on a supposedly 'safe' planet, John knew enough not to turn off his radio and to check in regularly. 

John left a message for Rodney that he'd be on the mainland overnight, and he'd be back by dinner tomorrow. He put in the notice to be transmitted to the SGC that Yevgenievich would be returning early, adding the note that the project he had been working on was a dead end. That would hopefully alert General O'Neill that Yevgenievich was not welcome back on Atlantis.

It took only a little bit for John to clear out the priority messages in his mail queue and then he swung by his room to grab a small bag of personal items. A short visit to the mess for some portable food and he went up to the Jumper Bay.

"Rodney! What?" 

"I'm entitled to a day off, too," he defended himself. 

"I was..." John stumbled.

"I don't care," Rodney ground out. "Get us out of here!"

"I can do that!" John replied.

"Lorne, Dr. McKay has decided he's catching a ride with me," John alerted his 2IC.

"Got it!" Lorne replied. "Have fun!"

John opened the roof to the Jumper Bay and took off for the mainland. Rodney was still and silent for the entire trip.

"Do you want to be let off anywhere in particular?" John asked, as they approached the mainland.

"Wherever you were going to go is fine," Rodney said quietly. "I don't have any preferences. Just... wanted to get away."

"Umm... okay."

John headed for a small cove that was south of the main settlement on the mainland. It was a frequently used site, having a gentle beach, a grassy ledge that was good for camping, and was free of any dangerous native animals. He settled the Jumper into a space that had been used by others before him.

"Here okay?" John asked.

"Sure," Rodney said. He didn't move.

"I'm gonna..." John sighed. "Let me know if you need anything."

John opened the rear hatch and made sure the Jumper was sitting in a secure position. He set the shield -- even a known safe location required precautions -- and went down to the beach.

Seeing an already made fire pit, John scrounged for wood. Since the cove was used semi-regularly, he had to go slightly further afield that he liked to find enough wood for a good fire. He found a downed tree that he could work with. He went back to the Jumper to get a saw and axe to deal with some of the larger branches.

He also found a bush with ripe 'chestnuts' along the way. They really weren't chestnuts, but the nut-like meat inside the hard shells was edible once it had been baked. John used his t-shirt as a carrier for the chestnuts he picked. 

He was hot and sweaty by the time he had a reasonable pile of wood. But it was exactly what he had hoped for -- something physical and mindless.

Rodney had moved out of the Jumper to sit in some shade at the edge of the sandy area. He had lay down, closing his eyes as if to take a nap.

John ignored Rodney as he placed armsful of wood next to the fire pit. It took a dozen trips back and forth before he had a satisfactory pile. John glanced at Rodney before deciding _fuck it_. He toed out of his boots, stripped off his shirt and pants and waded into the shallow water in just his shorts.

The semi-warm water felt good, washing off the sweat. The cove was only a couple feet deep, and going out past the rocks wasn't safe, so he floated in the almost still water for a while. Deciding he was wrinkly enough, John stood and waded back to the shore. He went into the Jumper and grabbed a towel, roughly drying off. 

Deciding it was warm enough to not need to get dressed yet, John broke up some of the smaller wood to make kindling. He built a classic teepee to be able to start the fire when he was ready.

At this point, Rodney was watching him, still silent and not moving from his position under the tree.

John pulled on his shirt and pants, deciding to leave the boots off for a bit. He grabbed his bag of food and some water from the Jumper.

"Hungry?" John asked. 

Rodney shrugged.

"Come on," John coaxed. "It's only sandwiches, but it's better than MREs."

"Okay," Rodney said. He came closer to John. "I hope you at least put on some sunscreen."

John laughed. "No, but I will tomorrow."

"You better," Rodney scowled.

John dug into the bag. He handed Rodney the almost-beef sandwich, keeping the not-turkey for himself. They ate in silence.

"I found some not-chestnuts, just over the hill," John said.

"That'll be good later," Rodney answered. 

They sat in silence, just watching out into the ocean. 

"I'm going to start the fire," John said as it got toward dusk. "The chestnuts will take some time to cook anyway."

"True. Need any help?" Rodney asked.

"Nah, I got it," John said. He lit the fire, put a couple of larger logs on once it had firmly caught. He buried the chestnuts in the sand and moved some of the fire over top of them.

John poked at the fire as needed, adding logs and making sure there were coals over the chestnuts.

"Think they're done?" John asked, after darkness had fallen.

"I think so," Rodney agreed.

John went back to the Jumper for a shovel, and moved the fire around to be able to dig out the chestnuts. He set them away from the fire to allow them to cool.

Using the shovel as a platform, John used pliers to crack open the hard shells. He handed Rodney one of the sporks he had found in the Jumper and said, "Help yourself."

"Thanks," Rodney said softly. He ate a couple of the chestnuts. "These are good."

"Yeah, they are," John answered.

After that, John let the fire burn down. When it was only coals, he covered the last embers with sand and used the shovel to disburse what was left.

"I'm calling it a night," John said.

"Okay," Rodney replied. "I guess." He didn't move.

"Come on," John urged. "I'm not leaving you out here by yourself."

"Oh, right," Rodney nodded. He followed John to the 'latrine' area and they both pissed in the darkness.

In the Jumper, John rolled out the sleeping bags and arranged the cushions so they could be comfortable. He left the shield on but left the rear hatch open for the night air.

John could tell that Rodney hadn't fallen asleep yet.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I feel so stupid," Rodney muttered.

"Hey! None of that!" John replied.

"But it's true!" Rodney shot back. "I was hoodwinked by someone who would give me orgasms, and it turns out he's a real asshole."

"Well, orgasms aren't everything," John answered, feeling faintly helpless.

"Oh, sure, you can say that!" Rodney turned away from John.

"Rodney. There hasn't been anything but my right hand for... for like forever," John protested.

"What about..."

"Rodney. No one." John was firm.

"But you could have anyone!" Rodney complained.

"I don't want just anyone," John said softly. 

Silence. 

Rodney turned back over to face John and John could feels eyes on him, even in the darkness.

"You okay?" Rodney asked.

John snickered. "I guess that's fair," he allowed.

"And?"

John sighed. _In for a penny..._ "I hated the fucker from the first time he laid his hands on you. I just didn't know what it was."

"Huh."

"Is that a good 'huh' or a bad 'huh'?" John asked.

"Oh, a good one," Rodney replied. 

John wished he could see Rodney's face. He wasn't getting enough from just Rodney's voice.

"Go on," Rodney said.

"I finally realized I was jealous," John admitted. "But, well, if you liked him, I'd live with that."

"You really are an idiot." John could hear the smile in Rodney's voice.

"You're my best friend," John said softly. "I wasn't going to lose that. For anything."

"You're my best friend, too," Rodney echoed. "But, maybe, we could add some orgasms to that."

_Wait! What?_

Rodney chuckled. "I think I broke you."

"M-m-maybe?" John stuttered.

"Okay, hang on," Rodney said. He inched closer to John. "Stop me if I'm going to fuck this up."

"Okay," John said. He could feel the warmth of Rodney's body next to his. Rodney leaned closer to him.

Rodney pressed his lips to John's. 

"Okay?" Rodney asked.

"Can we do that again?"

Without answering, Rodney moved toward John. John moved to meet him this time. 

It was soft, exploratory. When Rodney drew back, John automatically chased after him.

"Let's make this more comfortable," Rodney said. He got up and moved his bedroll to overlap with John's. He lay back down, right next to John.

"Still okay?" Rodney asked.

"Better!" John said. He inched even closer to Rodney, putting a hand on Rodney's hip.

Rodney puts a warm hand on John's waist.

John lost himself in the kissing and touching. He wormed his hand under Rodney's t-shirt and caressed what he could touch.

After a time, John found himself lazily kissing Rodney, content to trade soft kisses.

"I didn't want to lose you, either," Rodney confessed. "You are so important to me, that I never really hoped for more."

"When Gregori kissed you in the Gateroom, I... I didn't know what I was feeling," John admitted. "But the longer he was around, the more I just wanted him gone."

"Good thing he's an ass, then," Rodney teased. "Would you have said anything if he wasn't?"

John shrugged. "Probably not."

"Then we were both being stupid," Rodney said.

"Come here," John directed. He manhandled Rodeny -- who didn't protest -- to turn over so John could snuggle right up to him. He pulled the blanked over both of them. "Get some sleep."

"No orgasms?" Rodney pouted.

"Want a real bed for that," John murmured. "Waited this long, we can wait until tomorrow."

Rodney sighed. "Okay." He wriggled his ass against John's groin.

"Go the fuck to sleep," John ground out.

Rodney giggled. "Okay, okay."

Surprisingly, John slept longer than he had planned. The sun was high in the sky before he stirred.

They had shifted during the night. John ended up on his back and Rodney was drooling on his chest. John just lay there, content. 

Rodney snuffled and woke with a start.

"Thought I dreamed that," he admitted.

"Good dream," John replied.

"Is there coffee?" Rodney asked.

John laughed. "Never change." He dropped a kiss on the top of Rodney's head. "Let me get some water going and I can get some almost-coffee made."

"Blech," Rodney moaned. "But it'll do."

John had a fire going shortly and handed Rodney his near-coffee. They sat shoulder-to-shoulder near the fire.

"Do we have any reason to stay here any longer?" Rodney asked, once he had inhaled the beverage and the rest of the sandwiches John had brought.

"Not really," John said. "I just needed to get away."

"Then maybe we can go back and find that bed?" Rodney asked. "No one's expecting us."

"We can't just sneak back," John replied. "Everyone will see us."

"Well, yeah," Rodney rolled his eyes. "But no one will pay attention."

"O-kay," John drawled.

"Hang on," Rodney directed. He took several tools out of his pockets and patted himself down. "Put all that in the Jumper." He then proceeded to walk to the edge of the water and waded in, fully dressed.

"Rodney!"

Once he was soaked, Rodney calmly got out of the water. "Oops, I fell in. And I don't have any other clothes with me, so we need to go back."

John grinned. 

They landed in the Jumper bay and, as they exited the Jumper, Rodney was... Rodney. He bitched at John for being wet and uncomfortable, complaining about wet boots -- "my favorite pair!" -- and kept up a running commentary all the way back to his room.

John didn't have to say a word, simply followed along. The tech on duty in the Jumper bay had hurridly promised to take care of everything, obviously not wanting to be the target of Rodney's ire.

The door closed on Rodney's room, and Rodney whirled. "See? No one will think anything! And you now get to take a shower with me!"

"I'm holding out for a bed, Rodney," John said.

"I'm wet and chafing in places no one should chafe," Rodney said over his shoulder on the way to his bathroom. "And you were in that ocean yesterday. So you need to clean up, too."

"Alright," John gave in as he toed off his boots. He dropped his clothes on a chair in the bedroom and strolled naked to the bathroom.

"What?" Rodney jumped. "Oh!"

"You wanted to take a shower," John smirked. "One normally takes their clothes off for that."

"Umm... sure..." Rodney stuttered.

"Come on," John said. "Take those nasty clothes off and join me!"

Rodney was still staring. John snapped his fingers at Rodney, who jumped, startled.

"Right, right, I'm coming!" Rodney dropped his wet clothes in a corner, glancing mournfully at his boots. "Those really were my favorite pair."

"Leave them to air dry and we'll use some saddle-soap to re-condition them," John offered helpfully. "They won't be quite the same, but they'll be fine."

"They better be!" Rodney grumbled. "The things I do..."

"Get in here, before you get cold," John suggested. 

"Oh, right." Rodne eagerly invaded John's space in the shower, leaning close for a kiss.

"Shower, clean up, then bed," John murmured. "I want our first time to be in a real bed."

Rodney took half a step back. "You drive a hard bargain!"

"More cleaning, less talking!" John smiled.

Rodney handed him a sponge. "Wash my back, then!"

John stayed as far from Rodney's ass as he could. That would be too much temptation for him to resist -- they'd never make it to the bed.

Turning off the shower, Rodney said, "Bed! Now!"

John laughed. They roughly dried off, and John followed Rodney to the bed.

John paused for a moment, to enjoy the sight of Rodney splayed out naked on the bed -- all for him.

"Get over here!" Rodney ordered.

John climbed into the bed and lay next to all that glorious skin. He started with kissing, but wasn't too surprised when Rodney rolled them so that Rodney was on top of John.

"This okay?" Rodney asked.

"Mmmm...." John moaned into the kiss.

Rodney wriggled so that his cock was next to John's. 

John groaned. "Not going to last!"

"Neither am I!" Rodney's hips stuttered as he fell over the edge.

Rodney's orgasm triggered John's.

Panting, John traded lazy kisses with Rodney. Rodney slipped to one side, and John turned slightly.

"More, later," Rodney promised. "Once I have a nap."

John snuggled up to Rodney and fell asleep himself.

Waking, John was disoriented. The morning light was coming from the wrong direction and he was too warm... oh! He opened his eyes to see Rodney looking back at him.

"Were you watching me sleep?" John asked.

"Umm... yes?" Rodney grinned endearingly.

"Oh. Okay," John replied. He leaned in for a closed mouth kiss. "You have an extra toothbrush? And what time is it?"

"It's still early," Rodney replied. "You can get back to your room, if you need."

"I need clean clothes, if nothing else," John said. 

"Umm... youcouldkeepsomehere," Rodney mumbled.

"I need you to unpack that," John said gently.

"You don't have to, but, well, you could maybe keep some clothes here," Rodney said, not looking up.

"Rodney?"

"Or not."

John leaned in. "Rodney? You asking me to move in with you?"

Rodney took a deep breath. "Yes?"

John laughed. "Is that a question or an answer."

Rodney looked up. "I don't want you to go!"

John shrugged. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay." John leaned in to kiss Rondey. "I need to get some clean clothes. See you at breakfast?"

"Yes!" Rodney grinned.

Ronon looked at them over his breakfast and nodded. "About time."

Rodney looked up in puzzlement. "What?"

Teyla laughed.

Fortunately for everyone, Dr. Yevgenievich kept to his room during the two days before he was scheduled to leave.

While John didn't normally supervise those leaving Atlantis, this one time he felt the need to be there. He stood in the back of the control room, wanting to make sure that Dr. Yevgenievich actually left as scheduled.

Chuck dialed the Gate. "Midway, this is Atlantis." He paused for a moment, then said, "The iris on Midway is down, travelers may proceed."

As those going to Midway started through the Gate, John moved forward to watch.

Just before going through the Gate, Dr. Yevgenievich looked up and saw John watching him.

John gave a small salute and felt righteously smug. After the Gate closed behind the group returning to Earth, John went off to see what Rodney was up to.

**Author's Note:**

> Russian endearments from somewhere I sadly didn't bookmark!
> 
>  _Dorogoi!_ \-- Darling
> 
>  _Lapochka_ \-- Sweetie Pie
> 
>  _Moi sladkiy_ \-- My sweetness


End file.
